- Strategy & Operations
- 2 min read
About 61% of startup founders in India expect pace of hiring to remain the same or dip this year: InnoVen Capital Survey
Nearly 61% of Indian startup founders expect hiring to remain the same or decrease in 2024, according to InnoVen Capital's 'India Startup Outlook' report. The report also reveals that 24% of founders are open to hiring professional CEOs in the next 2-3 years. Gender diversity continues to be a challenge, with 75% of companies having less than 20% women in leadership roles.
About 61% of company founders in India expect the pace of hiring in 2024 to either be the same as last year or dip a bit, says the ‘India Startup Outlook’ report from venture debt firm InnoVen Capital.
Of the more than 100 startup founders who participated in the survey, 24% were open to hiring professional CEOs in the next 2-3 years, up from 20% in 2022.
InnoVen Capital’s report is based on insights from founders of startups across stages and sectors such as fintech, SaaS, D2C, logistics, ecommerce and healthtech.
As per the report, gender diversity in leadership roles continues to be a challenge. About 75% of companies have less than 20% women in leadership roles, while 45% have less than 10% women in their leadership team.
About 68% of those who attempted to raise funds had a favorable experience in 2023, down from 71% in 2022.
According to the report, founders are more optimistic about 2024, with 78% of them expecting a favourable funding environment.
Founders continue to look at domestic IPO (initial public offering) as the most likely path of exit, with 64% choosing this mode, up from 63% in 2022 and 58% in 2021.
Preference for M&A continues a downward trajectory, falling to 22% from 28% in 2022. Overseas IPOs are also not preferred anymore.
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, 23% believe that AI will have a significant impact on their business models over the next 2-3 years.
Impact of funding slowdown
Most founders (82%) believe that focus on building sustainable business models has been a key impact of the funding slowdown, echoing the same sentiment as last year.The tightening funding environment has also led to a correction in valuations. Despite the sluggish funding environment, 85% of founders are optimistic about raising their next round at a higher valuation this year, compared with 75% last year. However, 20% of growth/late-stage founders expect a flat to a down round.
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